Vilified Assange may not get fair hearing, says friend
By Estelle Shirbon
LONDON | Thu Jun 21, 2012 1:53pm EDT
... Vaughan Smith, who hosted Assange at his country mansion for a year while the Australian battled to avoid extradition to Sweden, was given no warning of Assange's dramatic plan even though he stands to lose 20,000 pounds ($31,500) in bail money.
Despite this, Smith has been speaking out on behalf of his friend, accusing the Western media of double standards ...
"Why should we automatically assume that justice is freely available to Assange in Sweden?" asked Smith, who has championed independent journalism through a now defunct war reporting TV news agency, and through his Frontline media club in London.
He criticized Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt for commenting publicly on the Assange case - an objection that has also been voiced by Assange's British legal team ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/21/us-britain-assange-idUSBRE85K1CQ20120621
For the record, here are Fredrik Reinfeldt's 25 January comments on the Assange case:
Fredrik Reinfeldt: Well hello Carina! Anyone who has followed the issue knows that it is extremely sensitive for me to express my opinion about this, there is a particular case, also used of course in the international media, as you point out, some sort of approach that tries to argue that the Swedish legal system is the same mixed with policy makers and then I just wanted to clarify that it is not without extradition based on legal systems talking to each other according to specific rules and it would in that case be applicable in this case and I shall neither attempt to assess or speculate on how it can fall out ...
I do want to point out that it's it's also partly based in that it has tried to cast suspicion on how the Swedish rape law looks like. So that there is absolutely discussions in which we in Sweden legally and possibly may differ from others and to try to use it as grounds for suspicion Sweden. We are actually standing up for us is the rule of law where we have good order of how this kind of extradition cases should be handled. I think this case on the Egyptians in this case is rather special in nature and there've also been debated on many occasions, Sweden's role on this and've also been criticism about it, but in this case, again, it's legal talking to each other, the system of rules that exist and which must be respected and there should policy makers express themselves around or try to speculate how it can be managed.
Host: Is there a problem for you, Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, or the existence of these kinds of descriptions of Sweden as a legal banana republic in the international press?
Fredrik Reinfeldt: No, it's very often a method to use, to try to discredit a country or an entire legal system when so to speak, stands accused of a crime in another country, it is unfortunately also similarities with other occasions when this technology has been used. Of course we must stand up for us is the rule of law and also that we take very seriously allegations about rape because there is also an element of trying to diminish what we have developed and are standing up for a good Swedish legislation in this case.
http://174.120.17.199/index.php?topic=8177.0
http://justice4assange.com/
